We've just now crossed September and are flying back to the MA in the afternoon. Aside from the Schwarzwald venture, August was a cloudy month and we need a few days to sleep it off. The apartment's clean and we're all packed.

We're leaving Germany and we'll miss it. D's been to a few of these so-called European countries, and I made it to 5 while I was here, but I have to say I was most impressed by this place. Of course, I had the chance to live here and get to know the people. Nonetheless, here's a 11 point list of what we already long for without one step back Stateside yet:

11: Hauptbahnhof as the central operating structure of us-without-cars

10: Apfelsaftschorle, as in the drink we'll experiment with and start selling to the Davis Co-Op.

09: Proper beer with the proper drinking techniques. These Germans can use almost anything to open a bottle (I swear I saw one harness and use a sparrow's beak), but when it comes to
consuming you gotta run the etiquette right.

08: Pedestrian Friendly gegen Street vs. Sidewalk. All these pedestrian only zones around the Old City and shopping districts are great, and the old excite-o-meter jumps a notch when an occasional car comes meandering down a cobblestoned lane.

07: Feldrenner, DM. Here's to great athletes, fun people and reinforced arms!

06: Lebanese Food, its singing chef and Moussaka.

05: Students letting me know how they'll "become a car next week." Diesel or unleaded?

04: You have to realize that the best ice cream place in Mainz has this super grumpy woman working the scoop and you'd think that if you were in such a position as to give out so much joy (and joy is what I feel each time I walk away with a cone), you'd be really happy and proud but this woman really scowls so much that you think she hates Christmas, the cold, and just wishes that everyone were a bit more lactose intolerant so that they would just stop but woman, I will miss you!

03: Alles muss Raus! That one bookstore in Mainz that was always having a going-out-of-business sale just, it seems, to prove the point that man is always "going-out-of-business." How mortal.

02: The Mainzer Dom, especially in the early summer when the sunset lights him into a bright brick hue at 10:00pm. This central figure was the pivot point of our directionless darts around town.

01: Our friends here, from co-workers to teammates to singing Lebanese chefs and grumpy ice cream ladies (I miss you!). Everyone was and still is great, and we can't wait to come back and meet again.